CHAPPYS OUTFITTERS
R and J 12 month overview
January ends our hunting season but opens the gate to the upcoming season. The most important thing about January is to make sure you have a good food supply for your deer. Weather it be a winter food plot or mineral licks and feeders. Either way you have to keep them fed you cant rely on cut crops as there main food source they usually consume most of a cut corn or soybean field within 3 weeks. Remember during the rut the can loose anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds and during winter months they try and regain there lost weight for survival.
February, This month is almost the same as January keep your deer fed only difference is at the end of the month we start shed hunting, which is a great thing to do with family and friends. This shows you what what bucks made it threw the hunting season and what bucks to look out for upcoming season but during your shed hunt can also show you what bucks were killed do to winter or weakness which is not good. You should always notify your local game warden on your find of a dead deer so he can keep a log on how many deer for that county were found and if it is a dieses or not .
March, We continue shed hunting for the whole month. Which is very important if you have never done it I recommend that you do it keeps you pumped and helps you see the growth of your deer from year to year especially if you can start recognizing deer in your trail cameras and match them to sheds that you found. Then you can start judging if you want to let him pass to the next season or if he is mature and you want to harvest him this all plays a big roll in QDM which is very important if your want to harvest mature bucks.
April and May, Allot of people relax during these 2 months because they think there's not much to do. You should continue feeding this is all good for antler growth and to keep your herd healthy. Also this is when allot of the crops start to get planted which will help you to start getting a game plan together for your food plots and access point.
June and July, These are fun months this is when we start to put out our trail cameras. The deer have enough horn on there head to start seeing who the big boys are going to be. These 2 months are also the time we start watching deer to see there movements threw the property and start figuring out where to position our stands and where we will put our food plots. This is all very important to watch and see the deer naturally movement in the morning and afternoon both are different and will help you judge your morning and evening spots always keep the wind in mind when setting up you stands.
August, Food plot time, yes it is hard work and a very hot month but at the end it so worth it. Remember when picking seed it is important to consider all your hunting months to help make your decision. We like to plant a variety of seeds to make it last threw the season a winter food plot is also very important and after planting I always put trail cameras up on my food plots to see what there eating and what movement we are having.
September, our season kicks off when hunting in this month target food source like soybean that's there food of choice or your food plot. There in bachelor groups at this time and are very predictable which helps so take your time on the stand if he doesn't give you a shot he will most likely be there tomorrow around the same time always watch your wind.
October, A rough month to hunt the beginning is like September but then mid October comes and you hit the lull when for around 3 to 5 days the deer become nocturnal and don't move much during the day because they are up all night breaking away from there bachelor groups getting ready for the rut. The end of October is a fun time to hunt it usually starts pre rut when there hormones start to go up and the locking of horns starts to take place. That's when game calls and scents are most effective.
November, The beginning of this month things start to get intense the bucks start to chase more and fight. The race to find a hot doe is on. This is all good news to you this is when those big bucks make mistakes and move more during the day time. Be ready and alert things happen fast and end just as fast don't be afraid to grunt at a deer loud to stop him to make your shot. Mid Nov is usually the rut meaning the bucks are now finding hot does and bedding with them for sometimes more then 3 days. Which means the woods quiet down and not to much movement takes place but keep hunting you never know when he will break from her and look for another.
December and January, The snow months its a great time to hunt as well. Hunt over food sources the deer are trying to put on as much weight as possible because the lost so much weight from the rut corn seems to be there food of choice during these cold months you will see allot of activity in the evening more so then in the morning and also its the second swing of the rut when the bucks start looking for the does that have not been bred yet a really fun time to hunt if you have never hunted in the snow you should, its different and its easy to see deer moving threw the woods.
